Roughly an hour had passed since they successfully captured the Jewel Sniper alive and parted ways with Vihera and Byune.
Rei’s group moved through the natural rock maze with purpose, navigating the labyrinth as if walking a straight line toward the exit. It went without saying that Seto’s presence made such efficiency possible.
Rei rode Seto to survey the maze from the sky, tracing the path backward from the exit to guide Elena. He used his aerial vantage point to supplement the data on their map, ensuring they never lost their way. Of course, with the party divided between the ground and the air, monsters frequently lunged from the shadows, viewing them as easy prey.
However, any unfortunate creature that harbored such thoughts met a swift end, cut down by Elena’s Whip-sword or blasted by her wind magic across the board. The fact that the monsters targeted only Elena was likely due to Rei’s side consisting of one man and one beast in flight—specifically, the intimidating presence of a Gryphon like Seto.
Even now, two Bandit Goblins were being slashed apart by Elena’s Whip-sword. The final survivor was intercepted by Seto as it descended from the sky; a single strike from the Gryphon's forepaw crushed its skull, slamming it into the ground. The creature died instantly, brain matter, blood, meat, and bone fragments spraying across the surroundings.
"Good grief. The enemy count wasn't nearly this high before we entered the maze..."
"Even monsters prefer to avoid fighting in open areas with clear sightlines. If there's a location that offers a natural advantage, they'll obviously set up an ambush there."
While responding to Elena, Rei stored the Bandit Goblin corpses into his Misty Ring.
"That is true, but... Seto, attacking the head is fine, but if you pulverize it, we cannot secure the proof of subjugation parts."
"Guruuu..."
Seto let out a dejected whine from its throat. Out of the corner of her eye, Elena had spotted the creature's right ear, which had been nearly torn in half by the impact of its head shattering. Whether the guild would accept a mangled right ear as a proof of subjugation part depended entirely on the whim of the clerk in charge.
Rei gave a wry smile at the sight and reached out to stroke Seto's head in encouragement.
"Well, it’s not like we’re desperate for money. It’s a bit of a problem if you overdo it, but let’s just say it couldn't be helped this time. Just be more careful from now on."
"Gurululuuu!"
Seto gave a spirited cry at Rei's words, narrowing its round eyes in contentment as it leaned into the petting.
"Now then, regarding this maze—there's a fork in the road further ahead. Is that area marked on the map?"
"Yes. Right here."
Elena pointed to a spot where the path branched. However, Rei noted one discrepancy from what he had seen from the sky.
"The map shows the far-right path as a shortcut, but from above, that way is blocked. It looks like the aftermath of a battle. I couldn't tell if it was between adventurers and monsters or just monsters fighting among themselves."
Alternatively, it might have been the traces of a rampage caused by the Cyclops Vihera had fought. Thinking that, Rei traced the maze on Elena’s map with his fingertip.
"At this fork, if we take the second path from the left, we'll have to take a bit of a detour, but we should be able to make it through."
"I see. ...My apologies. It is a burden that I must move solely on the ground." Elena let out a heavy sigh as she thanked him for the advice.
Rei was momentarily captivated by the melancholic grace of her gesture, but he quickly shook his head.
"Don't worry about it. If the two of us could ride Seto together, there wouldn't have been an issue. The fact that we can't do that is my shortcoming, not your responsibility, Elena."
"Guruuu..."
Seto lowered its head, letting out a regretful whine. It wasn't that the Gryphon disliked carrying Elena; it was simply a matter of capacity. While Seto could manage to carry Rei and perhaps one child, carrying two full-grown adults during flight was essentially impossible. Rei and Seto had concluded that the limitation likely stemmed from the nature of the Beast Magic that bound them.
"Rei told you not to worry, didn't he? Besides, normally only Dragon Knights can fly through the sky. Compared to the alternative, having you scout the correct path from above makes this journey much easier than it should be."
Elena spoke with a small smile as they arrived at the fork. The single path they had been following opened into a small plaza where the road branched into several different directions.
No matter how you look at it, this isn't a natural maze. This was built by some kind of intent... Well, I don't even have to think about what that is.
The image of the dungeon core he had previously destroyed with the Death Scythe flickered through Rei's mind. However, the core he had destroyed back then had been dormant, not yet having manifested a dungeon around itself.
I wonder what the core here is like. ...Well, considering a boss or master is likely guarding it, I doubt I could even reach it right now.
Unlike the one he had broken, the core of this dungeon was active and still growing. The strength of the monsters guarding such a core would be immense—likely A-Rank at the minimum, perhaps even of the Dragon Species. Rei shook his head, clearing his mind of speculations he couldn't act on.
"Rei? What's wrong? Let's move."
Elena called out to him as she started down the second path from the left—the detour that was currently their only viable route.
"Right, sorry." Rei snapped back to reality and followed after her with Seto.
They continued through the rocky corridors for another hour. Between the time spent on the Cyclops and the Jewel Sniper, they were behind schedule, so they moved with an increased pace. Rei and Seto took turns moving between the ground and the sky to ensure the path remained safe until, suddenly, something strange entered Rei's field of vision.
"Is that... a stone statue?"
Elena had spotted it as well. Tucked into a corner of the path as if hiding from something were three stone statues: a fox-eared woman, an elf man, and a human man. They sat in stark contrast to the surrounding terrain, looking entirely out of place. No one would come all the way down into a dungeon just to carve statues.
The implication hit Rei, and he caught his breath. These weren't statues; they were a former beastman, a former elf, and a former human.
The desert, petrification... the pieces fell into place. Just as the answer reached his lips, Elena spoke first.
"A Basilisk."
"...Yeah. Seto, on guard. Elena, do you have any resistance to Petrification?"
Rei issued the instructions sharply, his relaxed tone vanishing instantly. Rei himself had the protection of his Dragon Robe and a body naturally resistant to such status effects, but he wasn't sure if Elena or Seto possessed similar resistance.
As an A-Rank Gryphon, Seto likely had higher natural defense than lower-ranked monsters, and Elena had inherited the power of an Ancient Dragon magic stone. They were certainly more resilient than the average adventurer, but that didn't mean they were immune.
I suppose that goes for me, too. Since he had never actually been hit by a petrifying attack, Rei couldn't assume his immunity was absolute.
"My resistance is certainly higher than that of a common adventurer," Elena muttered.
The group moved into the shadows of the rocks near the three petrified adventurers.
"To think a Basilisk would be in a place like this... though I suppose if a C-Rank Cyclops was wandering around, a B-Rank Basilisk isn't out of the question."
"Yeah. Worst-case scenario, it might be a Cockatrice, but the result is the same: they both have the power to turn you to stone."
A Basilisk was a giant, eight-legged, one-eyed lizard that petrified anyone caught in its gaze. A Cockatrice was a monster with the upper body of a chicken and the lower body of a snake that breathed a petrifying mist. Whether by sight or by breath, the outcome was identical.
"But if you're asking which is more dangerous, it’s definitely the Basilisk." Rei spoke while focusing his senses on the surrounding air.
Elena nodded, scanning the perimeter. "Yes. You can simply avoid a Cockatrice's breath. It isn't easy, but it’s possible. The Basilisk is different. You turn to stone just by looking at it. Unless you're carrying a massive shield that can cover your entire body, it's a nightmare to fight."
If one could block its line of sight, the petrification could be avoided. Closing the distance would then be possible, but the Basilisk’s claws and fangs were also coated in a virulent toxin. The poison required a direct wound to take effect, offering more tactical options than the gaze, but the venom was so potent that "deadly" was an understatement.
They had purchased a set of antidotes tailored for desert monsters before entering this floor, but there was no guarantee they would work against such a powerful creature. However, the high risk came with high rewards. The claws and eyeballs were prized catalysts for magic items and high-grade potions, and the scales could be crafted into incredibly expensive scale armor. The magic stone alone was worth a fortune.
Of course, if we do take it down, I'm definitely claiming that magic stone for my Beast Magic, Rei thought.
He kept a vigilant watch, but after several minutes, there was no sign of movement.
"...What do you think?"
"Generally speaking, even if these people were caught by a Basilisk, the monster might have already moved on."
They had found the petrified trio, but there was no telling when it had happened. It could have been days or even weeks ago. Since they were stone, any adventurer who found them would have had a difficult time carrying them back to the surface. Given that this was a detour few people took, it was highly likely Rei’s group were the first to find them.
"Well, if the Basilisk isn't around, let's keep moving."
"I agree... but Rei, what should we do with these three?" Elena looked at the statues.
"What do you mean? It’s not like we can take them... wait, can I?" Rei paused.
The Misty Ring could not store living beings. However, the converse was also true: it could store anything that wasn't alive. And the three stone statues in front of him could hardly be considered "living."
...Will it work? Rei reached out and touched the statue of the human man, willing it to be stored. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, the statue vanished.
"Oh."
Rei was the one who let out a sound of surprise. He had suspected it might work, but seeing it happen was another matter entirely.
"You're the one who did it. Why are you surprised?" Elena said with a wry smile.
Rei felt a bit embarrassed to have his moment of shock witnessed. To cover it up, he quickly touched the fox beastman woman and the elf man, collecting them into his Misty Ring. Once the task was done, his expression turned complicated. He had collected them, but bringing them to the surface wouldn't help if they had no companions to take care of them. Restoring them would require high-level recovery magic or rare magic potions. Rei could easily afford the cost, but...
Well, worst-case, I'll pay for the treatment and have them work off the debt. Hopefully, they have friends on the surface who can take them in.
His decision to perform this act of near-charity was likely a whim, born from the realization that while the next floor was also a desert, it was going to be very different from the ones they had traversed so far. According to the map and what Pleiades had told him, the coming floor was in a class of its own.
With the statues secured and no Basilisk in sight, they hurried through the pass. Moving with extreme caution, they took longer than usual, but they eventually cleared the maze and found the stairs leading down to B15F.